"NervesOfThrill" (adrenalingus)
08/31/2014 at 22:18 • Filed to: Day Drive
4
0|
"NervesOfThrill" (adrenalingus)
08/31/2014 at 22:18 • Filed to: Day Drive | 4
| 0 |
Thought it might be cool to start reviewing any day or 1/2 day drives that are of note that we take. I try to go on a day drive every trip I make and will start reviewing them for other's who may be interested in planning a drive when they visit the same town. Hopefully others will join in so we build a library of 1/2 and full day drives around the country.
Went to Denver this weekend and had the pleasure of a 1/2 day drive culminating at 14,130 feet on the highest paved road in North America.
To tackle this mountain drive I decided the only reasonable thing to do was to rent a 911 Carrera C4S Cabriolet. So I did. Let's start there. I've accumulated a good amount of seat time in sports cars, but had never driven a Porsche, much less a 911 until this drive. I'm writing a separate review on the C4S, so I'll just say it was the perfect choice and amazingly, or possibly magically, may have opened a door for me...... More on that later.
Because I had my wife riding shotgun I knew to alternate technical roads (for my pleasure) with scenic views and charming spots for photos (for her pleasure and pulse rate). So we opted to head through Lookout Mountain as our first destination. The roads up to and around Lookout Mountain are paved orgasms. The only way they could be better was if the State Police closed them for my sole use. The view once you get up there is great for how short of a drive from town it is. First stop complete.
From there we headed towards Mount Evans to start climbing the 8,000 feet or so of remaining elevation. We lucked out with it being a Thursday making traffic really light, which allowed for some fun driving the first 1/2 of the drive; ya' know before the road became, shall we say, cold sweat inducing deadly. The drive up Mount Evans is basically a drive divided into two parts once you leave I-70. The first half that leads you up to the Ranger station where you pay the fee to take the Mount Evans byway is immense fun. Lots of great views, countless long corners and spots where you get to wind things up to pass slower movers and trucks.
During this first half you generally have things like guard rails and stripes on the road. For the second half once you have checked in at the ranger station these elemental safety items are forgone and you have only your raw, internal governor of your adrenal gland to decide your fate. It is fabulous. Just pavement, twists, turns, jaw dropping views, you and the car.
As the trees begin to disappear the realization that you are driving on the sheer face of the mountain sets in and it is a pretty surreal experience honestly. Part beautiful, part exhilarating and part shit your pants scary.
The last picture, is near the top and the last one we could take prior to entering the cloud level when the snow starts spitting. As you can see, you are just under the clouds and coincidentally on the last stretch of smooth'ish road before it starts getting rougher. The roads those last 5 miles are a little choppy but they must have been redone not too long ago as they were totally drivable in the C4S with no concerns ever, which is different than some others have described when they reached this point. Shortly after that you reach the top. There is an observation deck, an old building, restrooms and such up there but it was honestly cold enough we just made a quick pit stop and headed back down.
So in summary, if you ever want to take a half day to get out of town around Denver, I would recommend this drive. Make time to swing by Lookout Mountain and then take some back roads in that area. If you only had time to drive the ~30 miles up the mountain to Mount Evans, you will not be disappointed. Great road that takes you through an uncountable number of curves, an smorgasbord of photo opportunities and puts a checkmark on your list of driving accomplishments by tackling the highest road in North America.